La riquadratura delle tavole d'altare medievali nella Firenze del Rinascimento

Paintings that decorated medieval church altars often underwent a second, and sometimes even a third, life. They were frequently refurbished, reassembled, reused, structurally modified, repainted, expanded, or dismantled. These transformations responded to a wide range of needs: changing tastes, new display contexts, repairs, shifts in patronage, or evolving liturgical practices. In Florentine churches – the focus of this study – such interventions are well documented from the fifteenth century onward. Several workshops specialized in reworking earlier panels, making these practices both widespread and routine. Despite the diversity of terms and intentions, all these operations were largely driven by a common aim: to preserve venerated images and sustain their memory over time. This dissertation examines specifically the reframing of Gothic altarpieces and polyptychs in Renaissance Florence. From the mid-fifteenth century and for roughly a century, the rise of the “pala quadra all’antica” encouraged a distinctive approach, which became wide-spread along the Arno River. Instead of commissioning new altarpieces, patrons and workshops often adapted existing medieval structures, which had come to be seen as outdated. These were reshaped ad quadratum and enclosed within new frames inspired by classical architecture. The process frequently included the addition of wooden elements bearing painted figures (typically angels, prophets, or Evangelists) which enriched the composition without substantially altering its original meaning. Although significant, this phenomenon has received limited scholarly attention. This study offers the first systematic investigation, situating these practices within their specific historical and cultural context. The dissertation is organized into four chapters and approaches so-called “early modernizations” from multiple perspectives, including their historical, economic, sociocultural, and material dimensions. The first chapter examines the motivations behind these interventions. The second focuses on workshop practices and pictorial methods, as well as the profiles of the artists involved. The third analyzes the technical strategies used to attach Renaissance additions to medieval supports. The fourth and final chapter addresses the extensive alterations carried out between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the logic of the so-called “restauro di ripristino” led to the dismantling of many of these composite works, often irreversibly compromising their historical integrity. The study concludes with entries (more precisely conceived as essay-entries) of the twenty-five works of art examined in this study, organized topographically. Each entry combines stylistic analysis with a reconstruction of the object’s critical, collecting, and conservation history, in several cases leading to new interpretations and meaningful revisions of the existing scholarship